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No. 19 - Meet My Hero Francis Dunnery (Complete)
So there we have it - the one task i thought was going to be virtually impossible infact becomes the first task completed! -
So imagine this - you've followed your favourite band/
singer/
artist for 20 years. You've bought every CD, DVD, 'T' shirt etc. & travelled all over the country to watch the gigs. If someone said to you "one day, that band/singer/artist will come & play in your living room" you'd say they've lost the plot & tell them to get a life.
Well, this has happened to me (sort of):-
(For those of you who haven't heard of Francis Dunnery before let me explain)
Once upon a time (1986-1991) there was a band who had a top 5 hit with 'Calling all the heroes'. The bands name? - It Bites. The Lead Singer/Guitarist was a young Cumbrian called Francis Dunnery He hit the booze in a big way & quit the band in 1991. I was gutted. Absolutely gutted. It Bites continued with a new singer, new name, but it wasn't the same. A few years later, Francis got his life in order & has since created many a masterpeace of a 'solo' album. He also now has his own record label & has written for & produced many artists (Ian Brown, Santana, Lauren Hill, Marti Pellow, Chris Difford to name a few!).
Back to the gig - Francis is currently touring the world via a series of 'House Concerts' - yep, he comes to your house & plays to your family & friends. Amazing. You can apply to host one via the website. I did just that & was offered the opportunity to host a house concert on 17th August, but had to decline due to my little house being unable to hold 35 + 'middle-age' people in one room. Damn.
As luck would have it, a couple (Ian & Venessa) from a nearby town in Bursledon, Southampton also applied & were successful. The date - August 16th 2006. So i contacted them & got 2 tickets.
The scene was set!
Their house is beautiful & they were the perfect hosts for this kind of event.
Francis, full of cold turned up (eventually) Played for well over two hours & was full of great psychological banter inbetween songs. Francis explained to everyone about his mid-life crisis - (how bizarre that his started at 35 years old too!)
It was a truly amazing gig. A dream come true.
Afterwards, he joined everyone for a natter, a bite to eat etc & this is when the pic above was taken - we talked about astrology, starsigns etc. but not for too long because:-
- - It was Bl**dy late & our babysitter was getting a bit miffed
- - I was too shy & nervous to think of something more interesting to natter about
- - There were 30 other people all wanting a bit of Francis & his time, so felt it was best to 'Share him' around a bit!
In fact i think V spoke to him more than me! Anyhow, i have given Francis my www.before40.co.uk 'business card' (how tacky is that!) & he has promised to pay the site a visit. So if your reading this Francis, thank-you very much for a truly amazing night.
UPDATE15/09/06
1 month later & we have a review of the evening from Francis Dunnery's Site, written by the man himself (& being a Cancerian I love the Astrology Detail!). Read On:-
"August 16th 2006: Southampton House Concert: My best friend Stephen Harris is a Cancerian, born on July 1st and even though I have known him for years I still get a laugh at the two completely different personalities that he presents to the world. In an every day sense Stephen Harris is an extremely sensitive, shy, moody, reclusive type of bloke (listen to his solo album 'Songs from the Mission of Hope') and yet in true Cancerian fashion he often pretends he's a strong, confident, humorous, brash personality ( Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction) ......... to cover up the fact that he is an extremely sensitive, shy, moody, reclusive type of bloke! Yep, you've guessed it folks, tonight's host Ian is a Cancerian and just like Stephen Harris..... and Mike Tyson...... and 50 Cent ........ and Cyndy Lauper ........ and Jessica Simpson he's throwing everyone off the scent.
Steve Rowe and I arrived at the house a little late due to some weird Southampton traffic problems when all of a sudden we came across a house with a huge 10 foot green guitar logo (stolen from my website) stuck on the front. It was actually pretty cool looking and as we pulled into the driveway we were greeted warmly by Ian who was doing his 'I'm confident and fully in control' Cancerian double act. I immediately thought of my best friend Stephen and smiled to myself. Ian was extremely tanned and looked like he had just come back from Africa. Actually, he was so tanned that he looked like he was from Africa and was on holiday in Southampton. He greeted me like he was going to sell me a car but was too sensitive to rip me off.
The first thing that hit me when I walked into this house is how tasteful and elegant some of the decor was. I thought "someone in here is a decorator or interior designer" and then I realized that Ian is a Cancerian. If you read any Astrological description of a Cancerian it will more than likely describe how Cancerians love to be at home. They put all their energy into their home and they build their castles to be secure, safe havens where they can hide from the outside world. Every now and then when Cancerians are forced to deal with the general public, they suit up in their protective armor, namely a brash and confident personality and venture forth into the sea of emotional confrontations that they would prefer to avoid. I asked Ian what he did for a living and he told me he was a builder! Perfect! Ian and Vanessa's house is actually a very cool place to live, very comfortable with a friendly atmosphere........ a bit like Ian and Vanessa really.
During my warm up in the bedroom I could hear everyone downstairs laughing like crazy and I could hear Ian entertaining the guests and obviously being very humorous...... which is another Cancerian way of throwing everyone off the scent. Cancerians can be very funny and they often develop into brilliant actors due to the fact that they learn to hide their secret sensitivity very early in life as a defense mechanism. The dual life of a Cancerian is something to behold. Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford are all Cancerians. I was laughing to myself all night watching Ian remind me of Stephen Harris.
Just like I sensed when I arrived, the concert turned out to be fantastic and I had a really great time. Everyone was on form and Ian and Vanessa provided the perfect environment for a House Concert. It was actually very interesting to know that the previous nights host 'Craig' (the guy from the hotel) was back for more and he and his friends ( I learned this after the concert) pissed everyone off by singing along loudly to every one of my songs. Everyone said they thought it was Craig and his friends House Concert with me singing along!!!! Unlike last night, Craig was in full swing and he was hugging me and throwing shapes in the front room, he tried to kiss me a couple of times and ..... I'm just kidding Craig!
At the end of the night Ian introduced me to his extremely tanned wife Vanessa who also looked like she was on a visit from the Congo. Vanessa actually looks too young to be married, she looks about 13 years old. Infact come to think of it, Ian only looks about 17 himself. Unless they put something in my coffee? This was an extremely enjoyable evening which along with last nights Hotel extravaganza, brought me to peace with Southampton. I will no longer remember Southampton as a place of Mick Channon and drunken assholes but more like...... a refugee camp for African builders with taste.
Ian and Vanessa, thank you so much for inviting me into your home, I had a really great time and I appreciate your warm and kind hospitality. I would like to sincerely thank all the guests who came along and took part in the evening and also to Craig and his friends who provided lead vocals for the evening. A exceptional night in the Jacuzzi with Ian's Cancerian defense system and his African wife.
Thank you, thank you, thank you "
-------(Francis is spot on with the desription of a Cancerian!)-------
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